Fall wildflowers lend brilliant color to fields

When you think of fall colors, usually images of blazing yellow, orange and red leaves come to mind. While some leaves are starting to turn yellow early, look to the fields and roadsides for brilliant color. Fall wildflowers are producing a natural bouquet of beauty in September.

Unfortunately for many, it is also peak season for ragweed, the leading cause of seasonal allergy symptoms. Ragweed produces small green flowers which release billions of grains of pollen freely into the wind. It reaches its height during mid-September, causing millions of people to have headaches, itchy eyes, runny noses and congestion.

Most of the showy flowers of the autumn meadow need pollinators to transport their pollen. Unjustly blamed for hayfever, they produce nectar, seeds and shelter for local wildlife.

If you take a walk around a woodland or field this month, you will find many of my favorites. Goldenrod produces an airy, rich yellow flowerhead on plants about 2-3 feet tall. They contrast beautifully with the deep purple flowers of ironweed. Named for the toughness of the stem, ironweed grows on 3-7 foot tall stems.

Garden centers in fall have plenty of asters. A native plant, asters grow in several shades of blue, purple or white with yellow centers in the wild. They attract scores of butterflies. Wild bergamot, a member of the mint family produces a mop-headed pink to purple flowerhead. A favorite nectar source, it can also be used to make a medicinal tea.

Jewelweed is a member of the impatiens’ family. It grows in moist areas and produces orange and yellow trumpet-shaped flowers. They are an important food source for hummingbirds before their fall migration. The juice from the stem can be used to relieve the itch from poison ivy and stinging nettles. Known as the ‘touch me not’ plants, their drying seed pods burst when touched.

Queen Anne’s lace grows in dry fields and along roadsides. The flat, white flower head is very showy. Look closely in the center of the flower for a small crimson dot. Legend claims Anne, the wife of King James, was challenged by her friends to create a lace as beautiful as a flower. She pricked her finger on her needle while sewing the lace and left a drop of blood. Growing 2-3 feet tall, it doesn’t resemble its cousins in the carrot family but the root is edible.

The Jerusalem artichoke is part of the sunflower family. Producing bright yellow flowers on plants up to 12 feet tall, it spreads rapidly in open sunny areas. Plants were cultivated by Native Americans for the edible potato-like tubers growing on the roots.

Learn to identify wildflowers before picking them. While many of our native plants have edible or medicinal value several are also poisonous. Pokeweed, for example, produces dark purple berries on magenta stems which birds love but which are extremely poisonous to humans.

Whether you consider them weeds or wildflowers, they provide a rich palette of color to the early autumn landscape. Wander among them and watch the butterflies feast, before frost brings relief for the allergy sufferers and an end to the colors.

Julie Borgmann is the education and development director for Red-tail Land Conservancy. Her passion is connecting people to nature for conservation and wellbeing.